Sausage Star Bread with Onions and Cheese

Sausage Star Bread with Onions and Cheese looks impressive, tastes wonderful, but is surprisingly easy to make. Perfect for entertaining, especially at Christmas, this tear and share treat is inspired by Italian stuffed sausage breads flavoured with fennel seeds, garlic and herbs.

Finished with a shiny egg glaze plus sesame seeds, the rich sausage bread is wonderful as a savoury snack, but equally good as a side to all kinds of dishes including soups, salads, pasta, plus party buffets.

Disclosure: this post may contain affiliate links. If you buy via my links, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Jump to Recipe

WHAT IS STAR BREAD?

Star bread, a type of pull apart bread for tearing and sharing, always looks impressive with its tempting filling peeping out from a shiny, glazed crust. But the intricate star or flower-like shape is surprisingly easy to achieve. Four thin circles of bread dough are stacked with a sweet or savoury filling between them, the pattern made via a few simple cuts and twists.

I’ve already posted two star bread recipes. Savoury Tear & Share Star Bread is packed with salami, cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, and basil. Sweet and buttery Chai Spiced Star Bread is gorgeous at any time of year, but with its dusting of icing sugar particularly fitting for your Christmas table.

Now I’ve another delicious tear and share star bread for you. Sausage Star Bread with Onions and Cheese is inspired by Italian sausage breads and would make a great addition to your Christmas savoury fare.

SAUSAGE STAR BREAD

For this rich and savoury star bread, I’ve taken as my inspiration stuffed Italian sausage bread. Depending on the region, the bread has different names including bignolati and briolata. However, what they have in common is a filling of sausage, caramelised onions, and sometimes cheese. This is rolled up in a simple bread dough and baked or shaped into a ring before baking.

Loving the combination of sausage, onion, and cheese, I thought it would make a wonderful filling for a star bread. And because I love Italian-style sausage I’ve flavoured mine with garlic, fennel seeds, my homemade Italian-style seasoning mix, plus red pepper/mild chilli flakes. I think these are a great combination, but feel free to adapt the herbs and spices to your own taste.

You can use any yeasted dough for the bread, e.g. a simple pizza dough. However, making this at Christmas time, I’ve chosen an enriched dough with egg, milk, and butter for even more deliciousness. For a stunning finish, I add a shiny glaze of beaten egg and sesame seeds.

Full of flavour, I think my Sausage Star Bread with Onions and Cheese is wonderful as a savoury snack on its own. But it’s equally good as a side to all kinds of dishes including soups, salads, pasta, plus party buffets.

HOW TO MAKE SAUSAGE STAR BREAD WTH ONIONS AND CHEESE

You’ll find ingredient amounts and full instructions in the recipe card at the end. But please do read the whole of this post first for extra tips and step-by-step images to guide you. You should also use digital scales and metric measurements as these were used to test the recipe. You may not get the same result if you attempt to convert them e.g. to American cups.

THE DOUGH

In the recipe card, I’ve given instructions for making a no-knead, overnight enriched dough. Incredibly easy to stir up the night before you’re going to bake the star bread, the long fermentation develops the gluten usually achieved by kneading. And it’s gluten that gives bread its rise and structure.

I think the egg, milk, and butter gives it a lovely flavour. But if you have a favourite bread dough recipe, knead or no-knead, same day or overnight risen, then feel free to use it. You’ll need to start with 350 grams of strong bread flour, adjusting the ratio of the other dough ingredients in your recipe as necessary.

SAUSAGE, ONIONS & CHEESE FILLING

For the filling, it’s best to start with the best quality sausage you can. Look for a high meat content of at least 85 per cent and ideally over 90 per cent. Because high content meat sausages are generally easier to find than sausage meat, I use sausages with the skins removed. For my Sausage Star Bread, you’ll need around 400 grams or approximately 6 fat sausages.

We make the filling by breaking up the sausage meat and browning in oil, turning and breaking it up further until crumbled into small pieces. After removing the meat, the onions and garlic are softened in the same oil and the seasonings added. So the filling isn’t too oily, I put the sausage and onion on kitchen paper to drain while it cools. The sausage and onion are then mixed together.

Tip: to really bring out their flavour, you can toast the fennel seeds in the dry pan before cooking the sausage.

For the cheese, I’ve included mature Cheddar and Parmesan for robust flavour. Simply grate and mix together.

ASSEMBLING SAUSAGE STAR BREAD

I admit the written instructions for assembling the star bread look long. But it’s honestly pretty easy when you’ve done it once. The photos should help them make sense!

ROLLING OUT THE DOUGH

Start by dividing your risen dough into four, using digital scales for accuracy, then leave to rest for 15 minutes. This relaxes the dough so it’s less likely to shrink back when you roll into circles. I find it easiest to roll all four first then set aside rather than roll one, top with filling, then roll the next and so forth.

For this and loads of baking jobs, I highly recommend a silicone mat (affiliate link). It means you can use less flour when rolling out and cleaning up is easier too. If you find the dough is still shrinking back, just leave to rest a bit longer.

I always make the circles slightly bigger than I need. That way, because I’m not very good at rolling perfect circles, at the end I can put a dinner plate or similar over the top and cut around it. The dinner plate I use is 24 cm in diameter, so I roll my dough 25 – 26 cm.

As I roll each one, I sprinkle the top with a little flour so that when I place the next one on it won’t stick.

LAYER AND FILL

Now you have your three elements (sausage and onion filling, grated cheese, plus four circles of dough), you’re ready to assemble the Sausage Star Bread.

Take the first circle and put it on a piece of baking paper. The bread will be cooked on this paper, so place it on a board or tray which will make moving it around easier. Now sprinkle one third of the sausage and onion mixture over the dough, leaving a bare edge all around. Top that with a third of the cheese.

Place the second circle of dough on, pressing all around so it sticks to the bare edge you left. Add another third of the sausage, onion, and cheese, then press on the third circle. Repeat with the remaining thirds of the fillings, then press on the fourth and final circle of dough.

Now take your plate, place over the stack and cut all around with a sharp knife. Make sure you go through all the layers. If you find you have a lot of dough trimmings and you don’t want to waste them, you can quickly turn them into cheesy dough sticks. See the end of my blog post for Savoury Tear & Share Star Bread for how to do it.

CUT AND TWIST TO MAKE THE STAR SHAPE

To make the star shape, first mark a small circle in the centre of the stack with a 4 – 5 cm cutter. You could use a glass, a jar, or anything of suitable size. Don’t cut through the dough, just press lightly to indent it. Using the perimeter of this circle as your starting point, cut the dough into 16 equal sections. Make sure you cut through all the layers but try not to cut through the paper.

Now here comes the initially scary but necessary part! Pick up two of the sections which are next to each other. Twist them in opposite directions, turning them twice. The first time I ever did this, it felt like the whole thing was coming apart with the filling falling out. But don’t worry. With tear and share star breads you’re supposed to have glimpses of the filling. After twisting and turning, pinch the ends of the two sections together so they form a point.

Once you’re happy with your first one, just carry on picking up two sections at a time, twisting, turning, and pinching, until the whole lot are done.

PROVING AND BAKING SAUSAGE STAR BREAD

Before baking, the star bread needs its second rise or prove. To do this, I put the whole thing (the bread on its paper and tray or board) into a large reusable polythene bag. Ideally, you want it somewhere warm. Depending on temperature, proving should take 30 – 45 minutes. But the best way to check whether any dough is ready is to gently poke a finger in it. If the dough slowly rather than immediately springs back, and there’s an indent left by your finger, then it’s ready. If not, leave a few more minutes then check again.

While the second prove is taking place, you should preheat your oven to the temperature shown in the recipe card. To give the bread a heat boost when it goes in, also preheat a sturdy tray to bake the bread on. It should be shallow but lipped so that any escaping juices won’t leak into your oven.

When your Sausage Star Bread is ready to bake, brush all over with beaten egg. Then sprinkle with sesame seeds and follow with another light coating of egg.

Now take the preheated tray out of the oven and lift or slide the bread, still on its paper, onto the tray. Transfer to the oven and bake for 20 – 25 minutes or until golden and cooked through. Tip: For a deeper colour and shinier glaze, I take the bread out after 15 minutes and brush on another layer of beaten egg.

When it’s done, lift the bread on its paper and put on a cooling rack. Wait until cool enough to handle, then take it off the paper and put directly on the cooling rack.

SERVING AND STORING

This lovely bread is best served warm to bring out its wonderful flavour combination. If not eating straight away it can be reheated in a low oven or air fryer or even pinged in the microwave. You can eat it as a savoury snack or as part of a party buffet. But it’s equally good as a side dish to main meals, salads and soup. I especially enjoy it with my Smoked Sausage, Potato, Bean & Kale Soup (recipe coming soon). Double sausage!

Because star breads look so impressive, and they’re a tear and share loaf, even if your twisting skills aren’t quite perfect, they’re great for entertaining. And I think the  star shape is especially apt at Christmas get togethers.

If you want to make in advance the baked bread freezes very well. Freezing is also great for leftovers.

Have a go at this delicious, stunning Sausage Star Bread with Onions and Cheese, and I hope you’ll agree it really is much easier than it looks.

I’d love to know what you thought, so please do leave a comment and rating if you’ve made it.

Print

Sausage Star Bread with Onions and Cheese

This tear and share bread looks impressive, tastes wonderful, but is surprisingly easy to make. Perfect for entertaining, especially at Christmas, it's inspired by Italian stuffed sausage breads flavoured with fennel seeds, garlic, and herbs.

Finished with a shiny egg glaze plus sesame seeds, the rich and savoury sausage bread is wonderful as a savoury snack, but equally good as a side to all kinds of dishes including soups, salads, pasta, plus party buffets.

Please read the accompanying blog post before starting the recipe and use digital scales and metric measurements.

Course Side Dish, Bread

Cuisine World, Italian-inspired

Keyword no knead bread, tear and share bread

Prep Time 45 minutes

Cook Time 50 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 35 minutes

Servings 1 medium loaf

Author Moorlands Eater

Ingredients

For the overnight, no-knead enriched dough (see Recipe Notes for alternatives)

• 350 g strong bread flour
• 1.5 tsp salt
• 1 level tsp instant dry yeast (i.e. the sort that doesn't need activating before adding to the other ingredients)
• 60 g butter (melted then cooled slightly)
• 1 med-large egg (beaten)
• 150 - 200 ml milk

For the filling

• 1 tbsp oil (e.g. olive, sunflower)
• 400 g sausages, skins removed (approx. 6 fat sausages)
• 1 large onion (finely chopped)
• salt (to taste)
• black pepper (to taste)
• 4 - 6 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
• 1 rounded tsp dried Italian herb mix or oregano (see Recipe Notes)
• 2 level tsp fennel seeds (can be toasted in a dry pan first)
• ½ - 1 tsp hot or mild chilli or red pepper flakes (optional)
• 150 g mature Cheddar cheese (coarsely grated)
• 40 g Parmesan cheese (finely grated)

For the glaze

• 1 small egg (beaten)
• a few tsp sesame seeds

Instructions

The day before baking (ONLY IF making the overnight, no-knead enriched dough)

1. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, salt, and instant dry yeast.

   Make a well in the centre then pour in the melted butter and beaten egg.

   Stir to start bringing the mixture together, gradually adding enough milk to create a wettish but still firm dough. Stir well to thoroughly combine the ingredients, making sure there's no bits of dry flour.

   Tip: as the size of eggs varies, and different flours absorb different amounts of liquid, you may not need all the milk or you may need a splash more.

2. Cover the bowl or place in a large reusable polythene bag and leave to ferment for 12-14 hours at room temperature.

   Tip: If you want to slow fermentation down (e.g. if the room is warm or it's more convenient) do the fermentation in the fridge or leave at room temperature for a few hours then put in the fridge overnight.

On the day of baking

1. The enriched overnight dough should have risen and spread out but is unlikely to have doubled: this is normal due the egg and butter. However, underneath you should see small bubbles (see image in blog post): if not, leave for longer. If it's been in the fridge, allow to come to room temperature before proceeding.

   If using alternative doughs. Get to the stage where it has completed its fermentation or first rise then continue as below.

Make the filling

1. Put the tablespoon of olive oil in a medium sized frying pan over medium heat.

   Break up the skinned sausages and when the oil is hot add them to the pan. Cook the meat, stirring, turning and breaking it up further with a spatula, until it is all cooked through, browned and crumbled into small pieces.

   Push the meat to one side of the pan, tilt so the fat goes to one side, then remove the cooked sausage to a piece of kitchen paper to cool and drain.

2. Put the pan back on the heat and add the chopped onion, seasoning with a little salt and pepper. Cook, stirring often, until starting to soften and colour.

   Stir in the garlic, dried herbs, fennel seeds, red pepper/chilli flakes if using and cook until the garlic softens.

   Transfer to a piece of kitchen paper to cool and drain.

3. Stir together the sausage and the onion mixture then set aside.

4. Stir together the Cheddar and Parmesan cheeses then set aside.

Assemble the Sausage Star Bread

1. Very lightly flour your work surface, ideally covered with a silicone mat to reduce sticking, and turn the risen dough onto it. Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces, using digital scales for accuracy.

   Lightly knead each piece into a ball then set aside to rest for 15 minutes or so, covered with the upturned bowl. This will relax the dough and make it easier to roll out.

   Meanwhile

   - Put a piece of baking paper on a tray or board: it should be large enough to fit a circle 24 - 26 cm in diameter. You will assemble the star bread on this paper.

2. Roll out the dough

   Take a ball of dough and roll it out onto a lightly floured work surface, ideally covered with a silicone mat to reduce sticking, into a circle approximately 25 - 26 cm in diameter.

   Tip: if the dough shrinks back a lot, put to one side to relax a little more.

   Put the circle to one side, then roll out the remaining balls of dough, stacking them on top of each other with a little flour between them to prevent sticking.

3. Layer and fill the dough

   Take a circle of dough and place it on the baking paper on the tray or board.

   Sprinkle over one third of the sausage and onion mixture, leaving a bare edge all around. Sprinkle one third of the cheese over the sausage.

   Place the second circle of dough over the top and press all around the edge to seal it to the first.

   Sprinkle over another third of the sausage mix, again leaving a bare edge, followed by another third of the cheese.

   Repeat with the third circle of dough and the remaining sausage and cheese.

   Top with the fourth circle of dough and press all around to seal.

4. Cut and twist to make the star shape

   USE THE IMAGES IN THE BLOG POST TO GUIDE YOU.

   To create a perfect circle: place a 24 - 25 cm round plate or similar over the stack and cut around it, going through all the layers. (Discard the trimmings or see suggestion in the blog post for using them up).

   Use a 4 - 5 cm round cutter to mark a circle in the middle of the dough. Press lightly and don't go through the dough: it's just your guide for cutting.

   Using a sharp knife or scissors, cut the dough into 16 equal sections, starting from the perimeter of the central circle. Be sure to cut through all the layers, but don't cut through the paper.

   Pick up two sections which are next to each other and twist in opposite directions, turning them over twice. Pinch the ends together so they form a point.

   Repeat with the rest of the sections, two at a time.

Proving and baking

1. Cover the bread or place in a large reusable polythene bag.

   Leave in a warm place for 30 - 40 minutes or until when a finger is gently poked into the dough, it slowly springs back but leaves a slight indentation.

   If the dough springs back quickly then it's not yet fully proofed: leave another 5-10 minutes and check again.

   Meanwhile

   - Preheat the oven to 200°C /180° fan /Gas 6 / 400°F.

   - On the middle shelf put in a baking tray to preheat: it should be large enough to easily fit the bread and also have a lip to prevent any juices leaking into your oven.

2. When the bread is ready to bake, brush all over with beaten egg.

   Sprinkle with sesame seeds then lightly brush over with more egg.

3. Take the preheated baking tray from the oven then lift or slide the star bread, still on its paper, onto the hot tray.

   Put in the oven and bake until golden and cooked through: 20 - 25 minutes.

   Tip: after 15 minutes you can add another layer of beaten egg for a deeper glaze.

4. Transfer the bread, still on its paper, to a cooling rack.

   When cool enough to handle, remove from the paper and place directly on the rack.

5. Best eaten while still warm or can be reheated in a microwave, air fryer or low oven.

   Eat within 3 days or can be frozen whole or in sections.

Recipe Notes

Alternative doughs. While I've used an enriched, overnight no-knead dough for extra flavour, this Sausage Star Bread can be replaced with any type of yeasted dough (e.g. pizza dough), kneaded or no-knead, same day or overnight fermented. Make your preferred dough with 350 grams of bread flour, adjusting the ratios of the other ingredients accordingly. Before starting Star Bread recipe, get your alternative dough to the point where it's only just completed its first rise. 

Dried herb mix. I use my Homemade Italian-Style Seasoning, but you could substitute just oregano.

RELATED RECIPES